Silken Roads
by AGENT Kuma-chan
Summary: Gift!fic for Nikki. NaruSaku. Sometimes it is the journey that counts more than the destination. And sometimes, it is best to just reflect on the process.


**For:** Nikki, my sister. Happy extremely belated birthday! I'll post the second one tomorrow because **someone** didn't like this one.

**Pairing:** NaruSaku

**Prompts:** Butterfly, elephant, beach

**A/N**: I'm taking some liberties and guessing what exists in their world. The present is italicized because **someone** thought that it was confusing otherwise.

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_Silken Roads_

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_Somewhere, there is a boy crying. She hears the sound of stilted sobbing, as though he keeps trying to hide his sorrow, filter in. It's a little muffled but it is close to her. Sakura isn't quite sure how she knows it is a boy. She just does, with a certainty that trademarks the many things she does in life._

_A tear splashes on her lips, salty and warm like that day they went to the beach._ A small break from their duties—"Come on Sakura-chan, you work too hard!"

A huff, a irrated growl. "That's because _you_ give me extra work, Naruto no baka!"

"Eh?" A confused look, scratches on his chin, and then a knowing but sheepish grin. "Oh, right. It's just that they put up a fight and…"

"If you didn't have to beat them up so much, I wouldn't have to heal them before we questioned them. If you paid attention to your surroundings before you did an attack, you wouldn't hurt our own ninja as well."

Another attempt to excuse himself but there's a thudding sound, a punch to the head.

"If you insist, though, a trip to the beach won't be so bad."—was what Naruto offered and who was she to deny what she wanted?

The sun was bright and hot that day, burning her skin as she walked across the sand.

"It's hot today," Naruto said, slouching a little before just dropping onto the sand.

"Naruto!" She dropped her towel and basket beside her. "Don't just lie out in the sun then!" Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a bottle of sunscreen. "Hey, you can't pass out on me here because of heat."

"I can't leave Sakura-chan like that!" He had crawled to her spot, giving her a lopsided grin. Her heart beat a little faster at that. "We're at the beach together, finally." Looking thoughtful, he blinked in surprise at a thought and yelled it gleefully. "It's our first date in _months!_"

"…you're right. I wonder why that is."

Naruto cringed slightly, realizing what she meant. "But, Sakura-chan…" he whined.

"Stay still, I need to put your sunscreen on." His body was awfully warm, which was no surprise considering he had practically ran through the sunny streets to get to this beach for the last hour. "Don't overwork yourself on days like this. I'm serious."

He gave her a soft smile. "I made you worry again." Before she could say or do anything, he kissed her lightly on the cheeks before getting up. "Sorry."

He was always pulling a fast one on her like that, leaving her uncertain if she should hit him or kiss him back. She settled instead to watching him run to the water, her own personal sun.

She wonders why she didn't notice him back when they were younger, but he was still a foolish boy back then and she was a starry-eyed girl. It was a combination that would never work, no matter how hard it tried to fit.

Instead, it took years of learning and understanding for her to see Naruto for Naruto, not for the boy the village painted him as.

_A hand slips into hers, squeezing it tightly. The grip is almost as firm as Naruto's—is it Naruto's?—that day when they saw Sasuke again._ It trembled faintly then at seeing their friend after chasing him down.

Sasuke never could get caught if he didn't want to. That much she knew after a childhood of chasing him.

Naruto squeezed her hand tightly and she held on just as strongly after Sasuke had left.

"Sometimes," Naruto told her softly, admitting perhaps for the first time his true thoughts. It was hard to hear and she got the impression that he was saying it more to himself than to her. "I don't think he wants to come back. I don't think he will unless he gets dragged and…I don't want him to come back like that. I don't want him to hate coming back."

"…" She said nothing for a moment, realizing the weight of the words he gave her, and she knew that what he said was probably true. She saw it herself, saw it every time she looked at that photograph and saw his glowering face.

Looking at Naruto, she saw tired eyes and a crooked smile and something cracked (it was the continuation of a crack that started the moment that Naruto came back and said she hadn't changed at all).

That defeated look on his face, it didn't belong there. It just didn't. Naruto was the optimistic one, the one that never gave up and kept plowing on even when he should give up. That was her job, to lose hope and be unsure, but it was not his.

He looked so lost and confused at that moment and Sakura knew that expression wasn't his, knew that it should never be his.

"You know," she said slowly, picking her words carefully. They had the power to make or break him. "I think he does want to come back."

Naruto looked at her and she knew she had to do something. "Remember his ego? He's really proud and coming back would mean he has to admit he was wrong. He would have to admit you were right. He'd never do that one his own." It wasn't the strongest defense but Naruto bought it anyways.

(She wondered if that was out of desperation or belief and decided she was better off not knowing.)

"I guess I have to beat that into him, then!" He gave her a broad grin, no trace of that broken boy she saw moments ago existing except in his eyes. Even they were turning brighter.

"Yeah," she agreed, "And I want to give him a good punch too."

She didn't notice that they were still holding hands.

_Someone's holding her hand now, though, and she wonders who it is. She digs deeper into her memories, deeper and further. This hand is a lifeline, pulling her back and forth between the realms of reality and dreams, an acrobatic feat where she is the trapeze artist walking on the tightrope._

She saw one once, when they had a mission to a circus.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan, but the only way to get to one was on a mission." She didn't mind, though, that their date consisted of guarding a bunch of rich aristocrats who probably hadn't worked a day in their life.

For a moment, they had acrobats dancing through the air like butterflies and dancing bears and that was enough.

"Look," he whispered to her excitedly, his breath tickling her ear. They were sitting next to each other in the row behind their charges. Her arm was barely touching his but she could feel the heat radiating off him like waves. He was always a little too warm, probably the kyuubi's fault. "Elephants!"

So there were, majestic beasts that flowed over the earth like a ship flows over the sea. They made complex patterns with bears and lions flanking their sides and she was caught up in the chaos of it all. "It's so…"

"Awesome!" Naruto could still use childish gestures now and she smiled wryly as he moved side to side to watch it better. His hair was a little rough and it scratched her cheek when he got a little too close.

He smelled a little sweaty and salty, but she liked it anyways. It was still a very clean, pure, smell, and that was him. Secure and reliable to a fault.

"Yeah."

Naruto always made her feel safe.

"_Sakura-chan!" She stirs at the voice—she knows it, knows it as well as she knows her own hearbeat, Naru—and the light is too bright when she opens her eyes._

"—_to?"_

"_Sakura-chan!" He sounds relived this time, his hands stop shaking her shoulders, and she blinks while she waits for her eyes to readjust. _

"_Naru…to?"_

"_Sakura-chan! You worried me." His voice is a little hoarse, from crying and worrying. She slowly sits up as she looks around._

"_What…" She recalls the mission, the ambush, the roar of kunai clashing. Someone jumped her from behind when she was healing their charge. "I…"_

"_You scared me." This time he can't keep the tears out of his voice and she watches them land on her hands. _

"_Naruto…" There's nothing she can say except that she's ok. _

_She gives him a smile, sweet and simple, and thinks that she can never go wrong with him._

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**A/N:** Uh, due to the really bad ending, it is understandable that my sister doesn't quite like this.

I hope the rest of it is enjoyable, at least.


End file.
